I sat at the wood table in the MapRomm, maps scattered in front of me. The door opened and Thomas, Newt and Minho walked in. I didn't bother getting up or welcoming them. 

"Here, Love." Newt placed a cup of hot fresh coffee in front of me. 

I slowly straighten up. I wrapped my cold numb hands around the mug. He gave me a sad small smile. I didn't have the energy to smile back. 

"Where's Alby? And what's he face?" I asked.

"Alby is sleeping, that shank is still bloody recovering. And Teresa has been put to work in the Kitchen. Frypan and Vinny are keeping an eye on her." Newt answered. 

I snorted, she's gonna have a hard time manipulating those two, and as hot as Vinny was...Teresa wasn't his type. I chuckled to myself. 

"So? What are we missing?" Thomas asked, coming over to the table. Minho was looking at the model of the sticks and he also came over, the guys leaned on the table and I explained, as best I could. 

"Well...we know the maze changes." 

Minho snorted. 

"Shush!" I swatted his arm. 

"Okay, sections 1 through 8..."

I started to draw the maze, the section, cut into pie slices.

"...the walls  move at night...it opens up a new section. The sequence being: 71526483. But only a few of the walls actually move to open, some of these inner walls, why would they need to move? They just randomly move? And when I look at the maps, it's always the same walls, yes, it opens up a new section, but there is something  else. I just can't figure it out!" 

I threw my pencil down in frustration and rubbed my sore eyes. I groaned and my head banged onto the table. Newt patted my back sympathetically. 

"Definity more then we bloody knew before!" 

"We also know Grievers go into section 7 where that...Griever home hole thing- the place they took Gally. We also know they disappear somehow over the Cliff." Minho added, his face scrunched. 

Thomas frowned, looking at the mess of papers all over the table. His eyes were whipping back and forth, he was chewing on the inside of his cheek. He had his puzzle face on. 

Tommy?

I think...I think its a code.

The Maze? A code? How? 

"Hey, out loud you two!" Newt scolded. 

I was zoning out again. I smiled sheepishly at him, Minho just rolled his eyes. 

"Tommy, thinks its a code." I repeated, I stood up and came to his side of the table, trying to see his perspective.

"Well a code of numbers, sure..." Minho said, not quite following. 

I wrinkled my forehead, frowning even deeper. I could feel Thomas thinking, my brain was on fast forwards. 

 "Runners have always compare each section's Map to the one from the day before, and the day before that, and the day before that, day by day, each Runner just analyzing their own Section. Right Minho, that's what you told me, just comparing it to each day before, the same section..."

Minho nodded.

 I gasped, it was a click in my brain, I'm surprised  the guys didn't hear it. 

"What  if  we're supposed to compare the Maps to other sections ...what if we've been looking at it wrong this whole time...."

"...Been analyzing it the wrong way!" Thomas nodding along.

"What? What're you talking about?" Newt asked, his mouth pulled down in a frown, and used his thumb to run his thumb over his bottom lip, he came over to stand shoulder to should with Thomas now too.

"Minho! Charlie...you guys said the patterns repeat themselves, only you can't figure out what it means. But you guys always studied them section by section, comparing one day to the next." 

He started to gather the papers, one paper for each section, stacking them together.

"What if each day is a separate piece of the code, and we're supposed to use all eight sections together some how?" I breather, realization hitting hard.

"You think maybe each day is trying to reveal a word?" Minho asked, "With the wall movements?"

Thomas and I nodded. 

"Or maybe a letter a day, I don't know. But you guys always thought the  movements  would reveal how to escape, and exit... not spell something." Thomas said exitedly.

 "Wholly shuck! We've been  studying it like a map, not like a picture of something!" I yelped.

"Wholly Shuck!" Minho whisper.

"Bloody hell!" Newt gasped. Both boys looking back and forth between the two of us, eyes wide. 

"Let me see!" I grabbed the stack of paper from Thomas. I held them all together and held it up to the light. There in the middle of the paper, made from the different movements of the wall, plan as day, was a solid letter F. 

_____________________________________

"Well...Shuck." Minho whistled. 

"Do another one!" Newt cried, starting to grab some more, the next days work of section papers, lining them up. 

Again, set in the middle of the maze drawings, was an obvious letter, the letter L.

F... L... O... A... T...C...A...T..

"Float cat? The bloody hell does that mean?" Newt scoffed, "Not exactly a rescue code!" 

"Well, considering giant stone walls are spelling words, I'd say it's important!" I snapped. 

"Just keep working." Thomas encouraged, giving Newt a smile, and a nudge with is elbow. 

"FLOAT. CATCH." I announced.

"Definitely not a coincidence." Minho said, folding his arms. 

"Nope." I popped my p. 

"Nice." He held a hand for a high five. 

_______________________________________

We had pulled Vinny, Chuck and unfortunately Teresa, to come help, much to my displeasure. But she kept to herself. Her head down, the shiner on her face was looking pretty tender. I smirked to myself. 

I noticed Thomas zoning out a few times, I knew then Teresa was talking to him. That's why she was ignoring me. 

Tommy?

She wont leave me the shuck alone!

I could feel his annoyance and whine. 

Tell her I'll give her a matching black eye.

I felt Thomas chuckle, and saw a smile form on his lips. Teresa's head shot up, and I raised my eyebrows in a challenge. She narrowed her eyes at me.

I think she's a bit scared of you now. 

Good. I'll throw down for you Tommy. Any time, any where. 

I have no issues believing you. 

So...Tommy, what do you think we used to do? What we used to be to each other? And why does what's her face get to talk to us? 

Her theory was that her and I used to um..be..lovers. 

Eww.

I may have scoffed out loud too, because Minho looked at me weird. I shrugged and looked back down at what I was doing.

Eww eww eww. Gross! Did you tell that nasty dipstick about Newtmas?

I told her no.

Good. I don't know what her game is. She told me...when we got back this afternoon, she told me...They wouldn't kill Gally, just use him. Like they did me. And I was never their favorite...she always was and that I was his play thing.

The hell does that mean?

I mentally shrugged.

But it kinda lines up with what Alby said... about me being some dudes favorite. But after she said that...it makes us sound like some nasty dudes hoes, and he's done kind of pimp.

I shuddered. And I felt the bile rise in my throat.

I doubt that Sparky. Chill.

Then what Mr. SmartyPants?!

Well, we obviously worked in some kind of copasity with the Creators. So maybe one of them? You two, or all three of us were assistants? That makes more sense then you being pumped out.

He rolled his eyes, and I felt the exhaspiration from him.

Well, I wouldn't put it past Miss Flirt over there, she might be one...

You're terrible.

Terribly awesome?

No.

Pfft.

We were quiet for a while, working on the letters.

I whish I remembered!

Didn't you already go through the Changing?

Yeah. Nothing was helpful to this situation right now.

Oh. How bad is it?

The Changing? Awful. Hurts like shuck. I was out for a week, took me 3 days after that to be able to get up and get around. And then like a few weeks after...but then again ..I was pregnant and morning sickness was worse.

Oh... you would really go through the Changing than morning sickness? But Alby was only a day and a half and he's up and about.

He had a different serum than the rest of us. And shuck ya. It was horrible. Terrible consequences to some real fun actions.

Well... I'm glad I'm not a girl. Also I really don't want to hear the details of how you got knocked up! Please!

Ya sure? Cuz it was Ah-shucken-mazing.

No! Absolutely not! We are not at that level of friendship to hear the tldetsiks if your sex life! I don't think we'd ever be there.

Fine. What about Newtmas? How's that going? You tell him yet?

Would you please focus?

_________________________

It took us the rest of the afternoon, but we finally got the words. We kept going just in case, but the words kept repeating.

Float. Catch. Bleed. Death. Stiff. Push.

"Well...that's reassuring." Minho muttered.

"Full of sunshine and butterflies." I rolled my eyes.

"Well, okay, I guess we call it for now, time to eat some quick supper and get ready for tonight." Newt sighed.

Teresa was the first to leave and then everyone else left. Newt was leaning on the table still frowning at the papers.

Go talk to him! Tommy! Seriously. Not every day is promised. If you like him...tell him. I wish I could one more time.

I'm sorry Charlie. I can't imagine...

So please go talk to him, tell him how much you like him. Please, Tommy...please

I felt him sigh. And I saw from the corner of my eye Thomas pushing off the table and nervously walking over to Newt.

I left closed the door behind me. I smiled sadly to myself. I wrapped my arms around myself and slowly walked back to the Home Stead.

_________________________

Lee and the other builders had boarded up the windows and any cracks they saw. Everyone was crowded and squished into the Home Stead. Seperated into the different bedrooms.

I was sitting in the bed with Minho, Newt, Alby, Thomas and Teresa

I had my head leaned back against the wall. I had pulled Gally's hoodie on and clutched his pillow to my chest. My eyes clamped closed, trying hard not to cry.

"...closest I’ve come so far," Newt was saying, "to hangin’ it all up. Shuck it all and kiss a Griever goodnight. Supplies cut, bloody gray skies, walls not closing. But we can’t give up, and we all know it. The buggers who sent us here either want us dead or they’re givin’ us a spur. This or that, we gotta work our arses off till we’re dead or not dead."

Thomas nodded. I picked my head up and glanced over. Thomas and Newt were sitting close together, shoulder to shoulder. And I'm pretty sure their hands were intertwined.

Newtmis is finally a thing.

I smiled at Thomas. I felt him buzz in contentment. And then it slipped, relpaced by a rising anxiety.

Tommy? Everything okay?

Yeah.

Are you sure?

Ya.

Okay ...

I left it alone. Rolling my head to the other side. Alby was sitting beside me, he was staring at the floor, seemingly lost in his own gloomy thoughts. His face still wore the long, weary look of depression, his  eyes  sunken and hollow.

"Alby?" Newt asked. "Are you gonna pitch in?"

Without looking up he answered.

"Uh huh. Yep. Yeah ...good that."

I frowned and picked my head off the wall and really looked at him.

"But you shanks have seen what happens at night...just because Greenie the Wonderboy and Snips the shucken exception made it, doesn't mean the rest of us can!" He snapped.

I frowned even more, scrunching my face.

"Well if we live through tonight, we can pack for a few days and see what happens inside the maze or just shuck it and try the key and leave!" Minho said, getting up and walking up and down the room.

"What?" Alby yelled.

"Ya, why not? We might find something different in there now that it's the freakin' end of the world!" He glared at Teresa who just batted her eyelashes at him.

"Better than sitting here and getting buggen' picked off!" Newt added.

"Why? We have the home stead, and then map room and slammer if we need to, all good places to hide and hunker down."

"Alby ... The whole point was to get out! Not to stay!" I said, laying a hand on his arm. He flinched.

"Who would actually volunteer to go into the maze for days?" He asked, a little more emotion in his words.

"Me and Tommy. And Minho." I said firmly, the boys nodded.

"And me, if I bloody have to." Newt said.

Alby's eyes snapped to Newt, "you?" He asked harshly, "with that bummed leg of yours?"

"Alby!" Minho said sharply, swung around to face him.

"Yes, me Alby." I could hear the slight hurt in his voice, but he kept his voice and face neutral, "I would. I don't feel good askin' others to do something I ain't willing to do myself!"

Alby just laughed harshly.

"Enough Alby!" I snapped, "you're awfully close to crossin' a line!"

Alby took a deep breath, then looked at each of them in turn.

"You guys know I’m all screwed up. Seriously, I’m ... sorry. I shouldn’t be the stupid leader anymore."

Another punch to the gut, I couldn’t believe Alby had just said that. What is happening to everyone? I know it's the Changing...but Alby is so different!

"Oh bloody-” Newt started.

"No!" Alby shouted, his face showing humility, surrender, "That’s not what I meant. Listen to me. I ain’t saying we should switch or any of that klunk. I’m just saying ... I think I need to let you guys make the decisions. I don’t trust myself. So ... yeah, I’ll do whatever."

I frowned looking at the others, they all had the same confused expression, except for Teresa, she just looked board.

"Works for me." She sniffed.

"No one asked you. Why are you even here?" I snapped.

Before anyone could respond, the unmistakable noise of Grievers were heard and they were close. I could feel the hole Home Stead go silent and tense.

I felt my breath catch in my throat. I squeezed the pillow to my chest.

Charlie? We'll be okay. I won't let anything happen to you.

It's not me I'm worried about Tommy.

I know, and that's why I'm worried about you.

There was a wild crash and yelling from the front of the Home Stead. All our heads turned to the bedroom door. The yelling was getting louder, closer. I jumped off the bed and yanked the door open.

Standing in the doorway was..

"Gally?" I whispered.